Exemplary embodiments relate generally to networks, and more particularly, to methods, systems, and computer program products for providing quality of service brokering in a network.
Customers are increasingly asking service providers to manage computer connections from one geographic location to another and these computer connections often involve multiple carriers and multiple networks. When a customer requests a particular bandwidth for a particular quality of service (QoS) level, the service providers may have to negotiate with multiple carriers to provide the requested service. Typically, the service providers negotiate contracts on a case-by-case basis with each carrier and mark the traffic according to the negotiated contract. The initial setup of a requested service, including the negotiation and router set-up, can be a cumbersome and lengthy process. If there are any changes in the traffic, such as Internet protocol address changes, then the negotiated connections are broken and can take time and manual effort to re-establish.
As more service providers look to add voice and video content to their broadband networks, typically through the use of outside content providers, the need for a committed QoS level to provide a good customer experience is increasing. Currently, service providers can only control the QoS in their own networks. These providers can negotiate QoS contracts with other providers, but this has proven to be a cumbersome process. It would be desirable to implement an easy to use, standard process for negotiating and transmitting QoS information across multiple networks.